Residential and commercial buildings are the backbone of your business, and keeping them safe is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. Here are some tips for protecting your properties:
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Get Your Property Insured
While insurance is not a direct means of protecting your business properties, it can help prevent massive losses from damages. According to a study published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, property damage has been the leading cause of home insurance losses for decades. Based on the findings, property damage contributed to 97.7% of insurance losses in 2020. Hence, property insurance is a must-have for any business owner.
Property insurance helps your company protect against losses that could result in expensive lawsuits or even bankruptcy. Property insurance can cover many losses, including theft and vandalism, fire and smoke damage, explosions, and earthquakes. If you’re worried about these situations affecting your property and business operations, it’s time to talk with an insurance agent about getting the right coverage for your needs.
It’s essential to do some research before purchasing property insurance because each policy will have different requirements—for example: how much coverage you get per square foot of building space, whether or not additional features like sprinkler systems are covered, what kinds of valuables need protection from theft or damage, etc. It all depends on what kind of risks you’re facing at work!
It is always advised to select insurance from an established provider, like Porter & Curtis, with expertise in multiple areas. This will ensure that you get comprehensive coverage from a single place. You can choose a cover like Porter’s insurance policies. Such insurance providers offer coverage of multiple things, including property, REITs, personal equity, large middle market companies, etc. Moreover, their packages are constantly evolving to meet customers’ needs. Hence, you will get a coverage plan appropriate for the current industry trends and requirements.
Install Fire Control Systems
Fires are a leading cause of property damage. They can have a devastating impact on the property and the assets or equipment within. According to the U.S. fire statistics, an estimated 110,900 fires occurred in 2019 in non-residential buildings. The primary causes of these fires were cooking (29.9%), unintentional/carelessness (11.5%), intentional (10%), and electrical malfunction (7.3%). The number of fires can be reduced with the help of fire control systems.
These systems are designed to detect fires and alert you to the problem so that it can be addressed before it gets out of hand. They can be linked with the fire department so that an emergency call will automatically go through when a fire alarm goes off, or they can be linked with other components such as sprinkler systems or smoke detectors.
The benefits of having this type of system include knowing where exactly in your building any given incident has occurred—something that would otherwise be difficult without a map tracking where each individual device might be located—and having access not only to live feeds from cameras but also archived footage from earlier events.
Ensure Regular Property Maintenance
Ensuring regular property maintenance is one of the surest ways to protect your business properties. That’s precisely why routine maintenance is one of the most commonly sought property management services. But what does it mean?
Scheduling Maintenance
It’s easy to schedule maintenance, but how do you do it? The best way is by doing it yourself. If you’ve got the time and resources, use a calendar app on your phone or computer to mark off when you perform maintenance on each piece of equipment or tool in your office spaces. That way, you don’t have to make special arrangements with contractors or other professionals who could otherwise be working elsewhere instead of helping out with work that needs to be done immediately!
Performing Maintenance
Once everything has been scheduled, actual work comes: performing said tasks yourself! You’ll need proper training if this isn’t something that comes naturally—that’s why some businesses hire contractors specifically trained in these matters so they can take care of everything themselves without worry.
Managing a property is not an easy task. It requires time and effort. Hence, most businesses hire property managers for their commercial properties. This has led to increasing demand for property managers. According to a Fortune Business Insights report, the global property management market is estimated to reach $37.25 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 9.8%.
Protect Your Property From Intruders
Intruders can damage your property to enter it and steal valuables. Burglaries are the most common form of intrusion. In fact, according to data from the FBI, over a million burglaries occur annually in the USA.
There are several ways to protect your property from intruders, including the following:
- Security system. An entire security system can be installed in your business, which includes motion sensors and cameras throughout the building. Not only will this help you prevent theft or vandalism, but it also allows for better monitoring of employees’ activities during working hours. Security systems create a baseline defense that is strong enough to demotivate burglars and other intruders from entering your property.
- Security guard. If a full-fledged security system isn’t feasible in your budget or doesn’t fit the needs of your business, hiring a professional security guard may be an option that’s right for you! They’ll patrol inside and outside buildings on foot or by vehicle (as needed), providing additional eyes and ears around your property while keeping watch over any suspicious activity happening nearby.
You can implement a single or a combination of multiple security practices. What’s important is having some form of security measure in place. In fact, according to the State of Safety in America report by SafeWise, over 60% of Americans have at least one security measure in place to protect their homes. Your needs increase further than that as you need to protect a business property that can be way more costly than residential properties.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you have to focus on protecting your assets. If you don’t protect them, what’s the point of having them? Hopefully, these tips will help you prevent unfortunate property losses and save money in the long run. Your goal should be to keep your business running smoothly so you can focus on what’s most important—helping your customers!
